Anthony Joshua - Boxer
Anthony Joshua - boxer Anthony Joshua was born in Watford, Hertfordshire, to a Nigerian mother, Yeta and an English father of Nigerian and Irish descent, Robert Joshua. Joshua grew up for some of his early years in Nigeria as a boarding school student. Following his parents' divorce at age 12, he returned to the UK to join Kings Langley Secondary School. Growing up on the Meriden Estate in Garston, Hertfordshire, Joshua was called "Femi" by his friends and former teachers, due to his middle name, Oluwafemi. He excelled at football and athletics. Amateur career A late starter in the sport, Joshua only began boxing in 2007, aged 18, when his cousin suggested he take it up. His club, Finchley ABC in Barnet, North London, is also home to professional heavyweight Dereck Chisora. Joshua won the senior ABA Championships in 2010, in only his 18th bout, and later turned down £50,000 to turn professional. "Turning down that £50,000 was easy. I didn't take up the sport for money, I want to win medals." In 2010 his domestic success earned him a place on the GB Boxing team and later the same year he became British amateur champion at the GB Amateur Boxing Championships. In June 2011, at the European Amateur Boxing Championships he was stopped by aggressive Romanian southpaw Mihai Nistor. In October 2011, he was named Amateur Boxer of the Year by the Boxing Writers Club of Great Britain. During the 2011 World Amateur Boxing Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan, Joshua marked his sudden arrival on the world scene when he beat Italian reigning World & Olympic champion Roberto Cammarelle, Joshua went into the 2012 London Olympics as a novice on the international scene, despite being a world silver medalist.
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